The Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into
by upupdowndownleftrighta
Summary: "The... guy that I'd kinda be into..." It was a miracle she hadn't started floating yet. It was a miracle she still hadn't died yet. "The... guy that you'd kinda be into..." Deku prompted. A small laugh. "Yeah... The guy that I'd kinda be into... is..." (cross-posted on ao3) (p.s., yes this is a bmc reference)
1. The Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into

Honestly, you'd think something like this would dissipate after two and a half years. The whole deal was frustrating to say the least, and no matter how hard Ochako tried, it just would not go away. Which. Really, _really_ made everything she did seem incredibly and undeniably awkward.

It was easy? At first? To push it down that is, especially with everything that was happening at the time. The League of Villains on the rise, the push to prove themselves, the Seven Precepts of Death… It was all very stressful and… distracting.

But. Now, since the beginning of the new school year, everything was calm. Surprisingly so. Eerily so. Suspiciously so. Even with it being so quiet, no matter how unsettling, there hadn't been anything new coming in about any new evil rising. Ochako and her close class of comrades and friends were left to finish out their final year in peace.

Which.

Gives rise to the problem.

There is nothing to keep down Ochako's emotions anymore.

It had been so easy before! Just focus on the goal of becoming a pro hero. But! Now that was happening! They were all graduating and with everything they'd had to deal with, there was no doubt the hero companies would be dying to get their hands on some of them. Especially Bakugou, Todoroki, Momo, Tenya, and…

"Deku." It came out in a frustrated sigh. Ah yes, the source of her current problem. Stupid feelings still feeling and crap. Why couldn't it have just. Stopped. Or something. So that she didn't have to deal with it and she could just go on being besties with him and Tenya without any. Weirdness getting in the way.

It wasn't fair either. Deku has been so focused on becoming the best hero he can be that he hasn't even taken anything remotely like this to mind. Which. Ochako doesn't blame him. It's actually one of the things she admires about him, his determination to be the greatest hero. But. It's like. She's? There too? Notice her?

It's selfish and terrible, she knows, but she can't help what she yearns for. She also can't help her absolutely brilliant idea to just be out front with the entire situation. Especially since everyone, including herself, will be going their separate ways to become true heroes. Of course, they'll probably meet up every once in awhile, especially if some of them join the same companies. But it's not the same.

She knows Deku is aiming high, even higher than she, and while she doesn't want to distract him from his goals, she doesn't want to let this just. Sit.

Which is what leads her to singling him out during one of their last days at school. It occurs to her too late, when Deku had already noticed her destination, that he would probably be studying for the final exams, but she's too far gone now to stop. Oh well.

"Hey Uraraka. What's up?" The casual conversation starter is enough to settle in her bones what she's about to do and she feels about ten times hotter than she had the minute before.

Too loudly, she responds, "NothingheycanItalktoyouforliketwoseconds?" _Eloquent. Smooth. The highest tier of Got This._

The looks from her classmates sear into her as Deku blinks then nods. "Yeah, of course." He sets down his book— _damn he_ was _studying_ —and follows Ochako as she walks out of their shared dorm. She leads him only a few feet away from the entrance and stops.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asks, and there's this tilt to his voice that gives away that he's kind of nervous, which calms Uraraka slightly, since she's also kinda, sorta, really, _extremely_ nervous.

She gulps back the anxious lump in the back of her throat and opens her mouth to speak, "U-uh, um, y'see, uh. I-I. Um. There's this. Like. Uh." Well this is going great.

"Uraraka?"

Okay. Alternate route. Ochako clears her throat. "So. Um. I just need. Some. Ad...vice… yes…

Advice! Yeah!"

Deku relaxed considerably. "Oh okay. What about?"

Crap. "Uh. I mean. Um." She coughed to buy herself some time. "So, uh, say there's this guy that you've kinda known for a while," realization dawned on Deku's face and his cheeks went pink, "you, uh, see him all the time and you. Talk. A lot with him every day, right? And like, you're kinda. Used to thinking about him in a certain way and then suddenly it's like 'boom!' everything's different and he went from a guy that you'd never be into, into a guy that you'd… kinda… be into… I guess. Um. I guess what I'm asking is, uh, is… he worth it?" This… isn't exactly what she had in mind.

Deku rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit preoccupied. "Um, haha, uh? M-Maybe? I guess it depends on if, uh. You're certain? About what you feel? Also, that, um, you know you'd be able to make it work, since, y'know, you're gonna be a great hero and all." Ochako flushed and nodded.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, okay, that makes sense." Oh no oh no, where does she go from here? "Th-Thanks, Deku."

"Anytime… Uraraka."

Aaaaaand now they're just standing there.

God this is awkward, what does she say now? _'Thanks for your help in psyching myself up to tell you how I feel'_? This is a nightmare.

"Um." Ochako perked up at Deku's voice. "Wh-Who is this, uh, guy that you like? If you don't mind me asking." _Oh god oh no abort abort abort abort, canceling mission, Houston we have a problem._

"Uh, um. He. It. That is. A. Good question, oh boy, um."

Deku winced and waved his hands in front of him. "Ah, never mind, never mind, it's none of my business really, it's fine!"

Ochako mimicked his still waving hands. "No no! It's fine, I was just caught off guard, it's totally fine! It's just! Um! It's kinda? Embarrassing? B-But I am fine! With, uh, telling you!"

"O-Oh, alright, if you're sure." He was looking to the side, his face pinker than before. He wrung his hands.

"Yeah, yeah, it's. Cool."

"Yeah." This was going nowhere.

Ochako took a breath. "The… guy that I'd kinda be into…" Was she really going to do this? Bear her neck out in the open like this and hope for the best? His name was on her lips, the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't find the breath to push it out into the open. Her heart hammered painfully through her entire body and she felt that she may start floating soon. It was a miracle she hadn't yet. It was a miracle she still hadn't died yet.

"The… guy that you'd kinda be into…" Deku prompted, hesitantly, and Ochako was awoken from her thoughts.

A small laugh. "Yeah, that guy that I'd kinda be into… is…" She bit her lip and breathed out, "You."


	2. The Girl That I'd Kinda Be Into

**so i'm posting this in honor of my son, Midoriya Izuku's, birthday today. happy birthday kid, i'm sO PROUD OF YOU YOU'RE GROWING SO MUCH AND SO FAST AAAAA YOU HAVE SO MANY FRIENDS AND YOU'RE SO STRONG AND WONDERFUL AND HEROIC AND I JUST LOVE YOU SO MUCH-**

 **ahem. sorry.**

 **now! onwards to the fic!**

Honestly, you'd think something like this would go away after so long. Like- it's been two years now, Heart, maybe you wanna stop making it so hard to talk to Uraraka and train with Uraraka and just generally be _around_ Uraraka.

The entire thing was just- frustrating to say the least, because even if Izuku _wanted_ , he doesn't even think he'd be able to bring himself to tell her. She's just _so_ focused on her goal of giving her family the comfortable life they deserve that he doesn't even think she'd have time for him. Izuku doesn't want to distract her from that. It wouldn't be fair to her.

And besides, he has his own goals too. He's determined and ready to complete them to the full of his ability. And sure, maybe he imagines her next to him whenever he thinks about the finish line, and maybe he wants her to be there every step of the way, but that doesn't mean he has any right to just jut in on her own plans.

Izuku is perfectly content with letting his feelings just. Sit there. Yeah.

He held in a sigh as he laid his head down on the textbook in front of him. Emotions just. Suck, sometimes. Occasionally he just wants to lie down and forget they even exist because they can make focusing so _hard_. In the time of thinking about it and her, he's tried to read the same English passage five times over. He still doesn't know what it says. Glancing down, he moves his head and reads silently, " _But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."_

Izuku slams the book shut, leaning so far back in his chair that he almost topples backward. **Ha** , never mind, done with English today, he doesn't need that in his life right now. He slides the book to the side and grabs his mathematics textbook instead. Maybe going over formulas will take his mind off of- _hey is that Uraraka?_ Izuku deadpans to himself about how utterly _helpless_ he is before turning to the approaching girl. She looks incredibly determined for a third-year student in the last few days of school, and Izuku feels his heart squeeze with adoration. _I can't even spare her a glance without acting up_. Trying to play off the absurd thought, Izuku says cooly, "Hey Uraraka. What's up?" She immediately deflates, turns red, and Izuku hopes vaguely that she isn't overheating.

Her voice fills the nearly silent area and turns the heads of their classmates, "NothingheycanItalktoyouforliketwoseconds?" It takes Izuku a few moments to comprehend what she was saying. When he finally puzzles out that she wanted to talk to him, he nods and sets the textbook down. What could she want to talk about? Nothing's wrong, right? Izuku tries to think of everything he could've possibly done to offend her and comes up with nothing. _Unless she finds something I did mean and I don't, these misunderstandings happen all the time; oh God what if she found out that I borrowed that one fiction book from her for a day longer than I said I would or, or maybe she remembered some offhanded comment I said about her and-and just took it the wrong way oh no oh no oh no._

She leads him outside, just a ways away from the door.

He took in a quick breath and let it out before asking her what she wanted to talk about. He hoped his anxiety wasn't too obvious. She stumbled over her words for a few moments, seeming to not really know how to say what she wanted, before calming herself down. While she did this, Izuku forced himself to relax as well. It probably isn't as bad as he thinks it is. Maybe it isn't Uraraka saying that she's realized her mistake in befriending and never wants to see Izuku again ever. Maybe nothing's wrong at all. After all, taking in the nearly-setting sun and the cherry blossoms blowing across the courtyard, what this scene really looks like is not a breaking of a friendship but a love… confession…

The thought makes this little pin prick of hope drip into his heart before he brushes the thought away. _No, it can't be. It's impossible. There's no way she's going to c… confess to you or whatever. This is just your pining talking._

"So. Um. I just need. Some. Ad...vice… yes… Advice! Yeah!"

Izuku slouches before he can stop himself and berates himself on even thinking that she could be confessing. "Oh, okay. What about?" He hopes he doesn't sound disappointed.

"Uh. I mean. Um," she starts out before coughing into her fist. "So, uh, say there's this guy that you've kinda known for a while." Izuku's heart flies into his throat and there's this fluttery feeling in his chest. "You, uh, see him all the time and you. Talk. A lot with him every day." Uraraka fidgets, going from leaning her weight from one foot to the other and glancing everywhere but at Izuku. Izuku can feel his heart beating against his rib cage. _Oh please let it be so._ "And like, you're kinda. Used to thinking about him a certain way and then suddenly it's like 'boom!'," she mimics an explosion with her hands and bounces a bit, and the heart that is still in Izuku's throat squeezes tight, "everything's different and he went from a guy that you'd never be into, into a guy that you'd… kinda… be into…" She trailed off, looking down at her bare feet again. "I guess. Um. I guess what I'm asking is, uh, is… he worth it?"

Izuku felt like his heart was going to give out. There's only been a few other times he's felt like this, the first being when All Might first told him he could be a hero. Except this time he didn't feel like crying. He felt like singing, dancing, jumping off the walls. God if only it could be him. _Please_ let it be him she's talking about.

After another beat of silence, Izuku realizes he still hasn't responded and quickly forms a response. "Um, haha, uh? M-Maybe? I guess it depends on if, uh. You're certain? About what you feel? Also, that, um, you know you'd be able to make it work, since, y'know, you're gonna be a great hero and all." He just wants her to be happy and if going after this mystery person— _God please let it be him_ —then he'll encourage her to do it, no matter what.

Uraraka agreed and thanked him. Then they're left in silence.

 _Okay, okay, calm down, think a bit. It's possible she_ isn't _talking about you. She could be talking about Tenya, o-or Kacchan, o-or, uh… Sh… Shouto? Nah, they're not that close, but still. Hell, it might even be Tsuyu! Girls can like other girls! She might be using 'guy' as a barrier just in case I freak out about… that! So it might not be you. It's um. Possible, but not like. Y'know. Certain._ Izuku took another breath.

"Um. Wh-Who is this, uh, guy that you like? If you don't mind me asking." Uraraka looked like she might've thrown up and Izuku immediately regretted asking her. Why would she want to share that information? Sure, she came to him for advice, but something like this is private, even for your best friend.

Uraraka hesitatingly stammers out that that is certainly a good question, and Izuku winces. _Yeah, of course she doesn't wanna say, what were you thinking Izuku?_ He waved his hands in front of him to tell her that it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't any of his business anyway, and he let her know as such.

Still, she insisted that it was alright to tell him, just that she was surprised. Izuku seriously doubts that and he mentally hits himself for pushing. _This is her own private matter. Sure, you're her friend and will be there for her always, but that doesn't mean she has to spill every single little detail about her life to you! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Uraraka took a breath, "The… guy that I'd kinda be into…" She trailed off and looked contemplative, like she was debating whether or not she should really say. _You don't have to._

Despite his thoughts, Izuku said slowly, "The… guy that you'd kinda be into…"

Uraraka smiled and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, the guy that I'd kinda be into… is…" She let in and out a breath, then looked at him. "You."

And there it was. He had barely allowed himself to hope even if he insisted that it was impossible. She had said that she had known this guy for so long- that could be anyone in their class- hell, it could be anyone in general! Some dude she knew from middle school or-or maybe a next door neighbor or something. But it was him. She was talking about him. Midoriya Izuku. Not Tenya, or Kacchan, or Tsuyu, or anyone else. Him. It left him speechless, because that's what happens when the girl you've been pining after since she suckerpunched some thug three times her size in the beginning of your second year confesses to being kinda into you. And it felt _great_. Izuku doesn't remember ever feeling this light and airy. He felt _invincible_.

"M-Me?" he stammers out. "Like, actually? Y-You were talking about me?" If only he could communicate that.

Uraraka nodded, having turned her bright red face downwards in her embarrassment.

What does he do now? Just tell her he feels the same? Is that how these surprising mutual confessions go?

Before he can get his thoughts together, Uraraka speaks once again, "Y-You don't have to, like, like me back, or whatever. I just- with us graduating soon and the class splitting up to become Pros, I just… didn't want to leave these feelings, I dunno, unaddressed? I thought you-you had a right to know and I still want to be friends if you'll let me."

"Oh yeah, yeah, I totally get it, no," Izuku said. _Come on you idiot, tell her! Just say it! She literally just told you she liked you, there is no way this could possibly go wrong!_

"Well, uh, great!" Uraraka responded, her smile looking more like a grimace. "Anyway, that's all that I wanted to say, so we can go back inside and just, hah, pretend like this never happened." Her head tilted downward again, her bangs casting shadows over her eyes and she began to march back to the dorms with her hands clenched into fists at her side.

As she passed him, Izuku turned and threw his hand out, grabbing her wrist. "Wait, Uraraka-"

"No seriously," she cut him off, stopping immediately but not looking at him. "It's fine if you don't feel the same, you don't have to feel bad or anything."

"But-"

"I've already resigned and consoled myself already so it's not a big deal-"

"I like you too!"

Uraraka turned around so fast that she blurred for a moment. She stared wide-eyed at Izuku, who was looking at the ground to the left of her. It was so weird to be able to just shout out one of the many secrets Izuku had been keeping. His heart was beating hard against his ribcage once again and even though he knew the feelings were mutual, it still left him buzzing with anxiety over her answer.

"Wh-What?" She responded, utterly at a loss for words. She smiled shakily, her confusion obvious. "What are you saying? … You like me, too? How is that even…?"

Breathing out a laugh, Izuku said, "Yeah, that's what I felt when you said the same thing." His eyes flashed between her and the ground next to her and his face took up a red hue that rivaled his favored shoes. Figuring she wasn't going to run away, Izuku let his hand slide away from her wrist. He brought it up to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

They were silent for a spell, Uraraka seemingly needing to process the sudden mutual confession and Izuku just wishing she would _say something_. It took a soft sniffle to bring Izuku's eyes up from the ground and he found that the girl had tears dripping from her eyes.

Shocked, he could only sputter out a baffled, "Uraraka?!"

Uraraka quickly wiped at her cheeks and eyes, huffing out a few laughs. "I-I'm sorry, I just- I've been keeping these feelings contained for so long and I had just-just assumed they were one-sided and hearing that they aren't is-is _mind-boggling_ because you're just so awesome and brave and heroic and cool and cute and just- _every_ thing I've ever wanted to be. God, I just-" She launched herself at Izuku and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. "I've never been so _happy_!"

Izuku could only return the hug, reeling from the onslaught of praise and feeling the familiar sting of tears coming to his own eyes. As if he hadn't had the same thoughts either! And she's even calling him brave after she had gathered up the courage to confess to him! He could only spit it out because he knew she felt the same!

Izuku clutched her tighter. He felt similarly to the way he did when he realized his feelings after that one fight that he'd recalled earlier. The way he seen that criminal drop unconscious, and then seen her land on her feet, a determined frown on her face as she raced to the next criminal, and then thinking, _God, I love her_ before being swept up in the chaos that is fighting, and only remembering later that night what he had thought. And though he had been embarrassed and couldn't face her for a good two days, he had felt warm on the inside and he knew that there was nobody else in the world he'd rather be in love with than her.

A sudden burst of affection spread through him at the memory and he pulled away from the hug suddenly, a need to show her how he feels enveloping his very being. With a confused "Deku?" from her, Izuku cupped Uraraka's face and kissed her.

His heart swelled with endearment for the girl in front of him that it almost hurt. He felt her kiss him back, an arm wrapping around his torso and both hands grabbing at his shirt, and he felt he could sing. He felt like he could topple mountains, level forests, tame seas! Who would have thought the greatest power up in the world was not some quirk or drug, but love.

Even Izuku is disgusted with how sentimental that thought was and swept it away as he pulled away from Uraraka. Their eyes fluttered open at the same time, both dazed and flushed red. Their eyes focused and both of them lent forward until their foreheads touched, letting small giggles escape their lips at how silly the both of them had been the past few years.

"Hey Deku?" Uraraka said after their mirth had died down. "I like you."

Izuku smiled at her, eyes filled with such adoration that it nearly took her breath away. "Hey Uraraka? I like you, too."

"God it's about time!"

The two jumped away from each other at the sudden intrusion and they turned to see that their whole class was at the entrance of their dorms, watching their whole personal scene happening.

"What the-!"

"How long have you guys been standing there!"

Ashido tsked while moving her finger back and forth. "You should know better, Ochako, than to just scream that you want to talk to Midoriya alone and not expect all of us to eavesdrop."

"Also it's not like we were being quiet," Kirishima said. "Ashido and Hagekure were, like, actually screaming. They were louder than Present Mic on a good day."

"Hehe, yeah, plus how could we _not_ get hyped about this?" Hagekure chimed in. "Like, this whole setting just _screams_ 'confession'! One of the class's OTPs was finally getting together! I don't think I've been this excited since Kirishima and Bakugou got together, or when Mineta was finally expelled!"

Everyone seemed to agree with her, with a few exceptions that should be the obvious ones. (Though everyone was, to some degree, happy that Mineta had been removed from the hero course).

"Okay so we finally got them to notice us, let's go back inside so they can have an actual moment to themselves," Shinsou said in his usual monotone and waved his hands at the rest of his class in a shooing motion, and while some complained, they all filed back into the common room without much hassle. Shinsou then shot Izuku a neutral-faced thumbs up before following his classmates in.

Izuku and Uraraka deadpanned as their class disappeared behind the doors of the dorms, then chuckled. "We have great friends, don't we, Deku?" Uraraka said fondly, looking up at him with an actual smile this time.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. Even if they don't know the meaning of 'privacy.'" Uraraka giggled.

After a moment of content silence, she piped up again, "Hey so does this mean we're dating?"

Izuku startled. "Dating!"

She nodded seriously. "Yeah, I mean, we just said that we liked each other and we kissed and that's not really something friends do, so…"

"W-Well, I mean, yeah, I guess, i-if you want to…" Izuku progressively got quieter as he spoke. He looked down at his feet, cheeks once again pink with embarrassment.

Uraraka snickered at how cute he was and grasped his hand. "Then it's official! We're dating now!" She threw her free hand into the air. "Plus Ultra!"

"I-Is this really a 'Plus Ultra' moment?"

"Plus Ultra!" She said again with more conviction, this time with distant cries that came from inside the building.

Izuku huffed out a sigh and laughed, throwing his own free fist into the air and joined his girlfriend and classmates, yelling into the air, "Plus Ultra!"

 **Bonus (crack-esque):** Eri peered over the couch as the class that had made themselves her family came walking back in, some talking excitedly about how 'their ship has sailed' and that 'there's only a few more to go' before the 'wars can finally end'. Eri pulled on Big Bro Denki's shirt. "What are they talking about? Ships? Wars? What happened?"

Big Bro Denki laughed. "Ah, it's just a saying, lil sis. We're all just pumped that Midoriya and Uraraka finally admitted they liked each other."

Eri tilted her head in confusion. "But… I thought mama and papa were already together…?"

Big Bro Denki nodded. "Yeah, it seemed like that. Honestly they basically were. But now it's official. Now they can _really_ be your mom and dad."

Eri frowned in thought. What did that mean? _'Really_ be her mom and dad'? What could that possibly… Eri gasped. "Can I be the flower-girl at their wedding!" she cried loud enough for the whole class to silence their shipping discourse and turn to the little girl.

A beat passed and they all laughed. Eri's big sisters and Big Bros Eijirou, Denki, and Hanta all came over and cuddled her and pat her head. "Of course you can, lil sis!" Big Bro Eijirou literally cried. "You'll be the cutest darn flower-girl there ever was!"

Eri's eyes lit up like stars and she cheered happily. "The best! The best!"

"I say this causes for officiality!" Big Bro Yuuga exclaimed from his place across the table. "Midoriya and Uraraka's wedding will be the most extravagant event this school has ever seen!"

"Hel-eeeeeck yeah!" Big Bro Eijirou shouted. He gave a knowing look to his peers. "It'll _go beyond_!"

The rest of the class smiled and they all shouted the school motto, "Plus Ultra!"

 **so yes this is a 'Mineta is expelled and Shinsou takes his place' au cuz it is The Best au out there. and alSO YES BAKUSHIMA/KIRIBAKU IS CANON HERE. also #3, Eri finding a family in class a is like literally my Shit man, so of course I'd add it here and she is going to be the cUTEST flower girl in the entire damn universe OKAY**

 **anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this thrilling sequel to The Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into and I'll see you all in the next fic!**

 **Go beyond! Plus Ultra!**


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